Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a powerful country and has sent a clear message to China that it will hit back in case of any aggression.
Addressing the Indian-American community in San Francisco on Friday, the Defence Minister highlighted the high morale and valour shown by Indian soldiers on the border with China.
“I cannot say openly what the Indian soldiers did and what decisions we (the government) took. But I can definitely say that a message has gone (to China) that India will not spare anyone, if India is harmed. (Bharat ko agar koi chherega to Bharat chhorega nahi),” news agency PTI cited Singh as saying.
India and China have held 15 rounds of military level talks so far to resolve the Ladakh standoff. Although there has been some pull back of troops in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area there is still a lot more that needs to be done.
Referring to India’s friendly relations with Russia, Singh said, “If India has a good relationship with one country, it does not mean that its relationship with any other country will deteriorate.
“India has never adopted this kind of diplomacy… We don’t believe in the zero-sum game in international relationships,” he said.
His remarks came amid concern in Washington over India’s neutral position on the Ukraine crisis.
Without mentioning US pressure on the issue, he said, India believes in having a bilateral relationship which is based on “win-win” for both the countries.
“The image of India has changed. The prestige of India has improved. In the next few years, no power in the world can stop India from becoming the world’s top three economies,” the PTI report quoted Singh as saying.
The defence minister was in the US to attend the India-US 2+2 ministerial meeting.